Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Amazing Brahadeeswarar temple - Thanjavur, No indigenous rocks used

Thanjavur Brahadeeswarar temple is one of India's most impressive and imposing temples built by emperor Raja Raja Chola - I in 1010 AD, as per ancient texts on Vaastu Shastras and Agamas. It is one of the largest temples in Indiaand one of India's most popular and prized architectural sites. The temple's smart architect and engineer was Kunjara MallanRaja Raja Perunthachan. It is a heritage temple recognized by the UN. On 26, September, 2010 this historical temple completed 1000 years.

Big temple,Thanjavur. main deity- ligam www.thehindu.co

Above image : The huge ligam Lingam - the main deity is symbolic representation of the formless Universe. It is a tall and huge sanctum- garbagraha /Srikovil.----To mark the 1000th year anniversary of the building, 1000 dancers from various countries including the US participated in a Natayanjali/ Bharatnatyam Yajna.The participants danced to the divine music - 11 devotional Tamil hymns - Thiruvichaippa (9th Thirumurai) composed by Karuvur Thevar, a siddhar and Guru/mentor of Sri Raja Raja.

1000 year old Hindu temple,Thanjavur big temple, European with a bowler hat

This
is the first tallest temple (206 feet high) entirely made of granite
(about 130,000 tons) and completed in a 10 year plus period (1004 AD –
1009 AD). A unique feature is that the builders had to bring the hard
rocks - granite or related igneous rocks from the nearest sources
viz close to Tiruchirappalli,
about 60 km to the west of Thanjavur. There are no out-crops of
igneous rocks or any other rocks whatsoever anywhere in the delta areas. The builders intelligently chose mostly rigid igneous rocks and other rocks that belong to the granite group, thus avoiding metamorphic rocks that would react easily to vagaries of weather conditions and tropical climate.In
those days transportation of huge blocks of rocks from far-off
places was not that easy, not to speak of lack of well-paved roads
and numerous streams, rivers or nallas they had to pass through.Very
careful controlled explosion using gun powder, it is believed, might
have been used to slice the huge rock blocks according to sizes at
the rock quarries and then they were taken to the temple site with
the help of trained elephants.

Geologically
speaking rocks used here are the oldest ones on the earth - formed
about 3 billion plus years ago called Precambrian or ''Archean rocks'' which are available in plenty in Tamil Nadu. Such old rocks made of igneous and metamorphic rocks form ''Shield'' areasacross the globe. Example: The Canadian Shield that covers greater part of Canada.Brahadeshwarar Temple - And
the myth of huge Monolith Nandi:

Thanjavur big temple. Stone image of a westerner with a bowler hat .“connectinc.in

The
Big bull - Nandhi made of hard rock at the entrance of the main shrine in the temple complex is a major attraction. It is one a very few biggest bulls or Nandhis made of hard rock in India; perhaps next to La Pakshi temple near Ananathapur.

It
weighs about 20 tons (about 2 meters in height, 6 meters in length and 2.5 meters in
width). It is installed in a separate huge mandabam (hall). On auspicious days the Nandhi is anointed with oil. There has
been a myth going around for decades about the size of Nandhi and its gradual growth. Initially, It is
believed, the Nandhi was small in size and it slowly started
growing larger and larger over a long period of time due to the
presence of a toad (Therrai in local parlance) inside the rock and
the bull stopped growing once the toad was taken out of the rock.

There
is a small crack or broken chip on the back of the Nandhi –
purported to be the toad's exit. The crack is visible even today and, of course, one has to make a careful and close observation. Sometimes, it is difficult to see the crack when part of Nandhi is covered with cloth. Common sense tells us that this
speculation is based on mere conjecture and not on fact. Definitely the
huge Nandhi is monolithic. That, how did the builder transport the
huge monolithic block of hard rock about 50 to 60 km from the
neighboring district, crossing small rivers, nallahs, flood plains etc with no proper road at all through rugged country side, is a riddle. It is just amazing.

Statue of Rajaraja Chola.en.wikipedia.org

The
myth of huge monolithic rock dome on top of Sigara:

Thanjavur big temple.80 tone dome. symmetrical bulls. amazonnews.com

It
is explained that that the 60 to 80 ton rock dome on top of the
tower - Sigara is monolithic. Now, it is believed, that the huge dome
may consist of 4 or 8 pieces of huge rock of equal size , each taken atop the
tower using specially laid, weight bearing ramp, probably compacted
mud slope stretching a few kilo meters from the tower to the bottom of the ramp and all the
pieces were put together one by one carefully. Again trained
elephants might have been used to push them to the top, using the
ramp.It is, indeed, a great feat. It is a myth how the builders managed the huge block of rock at higher levels, where the pull of gravitational forces would have been much higher!!

Thanjavur big temple small stone carved image..shutterstock.com

The hard rock dome is beautifully carved with symmetrical images (each one on one side is the mirror image of the other) on all sides. Likewise, at top of the tower (base of the dome) there are four pairs of large bulls symmetrically carved, each pair facing four corners. For the sculptors, it was a Herculeanendeavor to standcarefully and comfortably for long hours on the high wooden platform supported by scaffold roughly about 180 feet from the ground and carry out the laborious and intricate carving and sculpturing work with precision, unmindful of scorching sun and windy conditions. Imagine normally the sculptors have to use both hands to hold the tools comfortably to give life to a carved image. That, how did the artisans perch precariously at such a height and produce geometrically symmetrical stone images of beauty, with perfection and workmanship, that too 1000 years ago, will definitely staggerthe imagination of numerous visitors - both foreigners and Indians who wonder at this ancient marvel built by the Hindu King,

the great Raj Raja Chola.

The
presence of a carved image of the head of an European with a skull cap on
the north side of the tower roughly above 120 feet suggests possible
European connections then.

Ref:

Places to Visit in and around Thanjavur.Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu
Chennai: Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu. ISBN 978-81-7478-177-2.

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About

I am KN.Jayaraman, Retd Geologist, author of this blog. I have a strong passion for Ancient Indian Culture, art, architecture, etc...
I started this blog with a view to covering the above areas and also odd things related to India.
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